Motion Picture Reviews (1935)

Motion Picture Reviews Eleven credit an honest mayor in order to obtain control of a fund for unemployment relief. A love story develops with a girl from the bread line and one of the crooked politicians as the leading figures, and the man is thereby reformed, but not until there has been some very unethical behavior on the part of both. Baby Jane appears as one of the children in a day nursery and exerts enough charm to make the picture seem better than it is. She is a ray of sunshine. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No; muddled ethics No ▼ SOCIETY DOCTOR » » Chester Morris, Robert Taylor, Virginia Bruce, Billie Burke. Based upon the play, "The Harbor," by Theodore Reeves. Direction by Ceorge B. Seitz. M-C-M. In depicting the difficulties of an ethical young doctor trying to adhere to his principles in a fashionable hospital which is run by political influence with a corrupt head doctor, this picture tells an interesting and dramatic story. However, although the emphasis laid upon the unethical behavior of many of the staff serves to heighten the effect of the hero’s moral courage, an unfortunate and exaggerated impression is given of the conditions exist in hospitals. The dramatic climax, a delicate operation directed by the patient with the aid of mirrors, is not for squeamish audiences. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 No; misleading No ▼ UNDER PRESSURE » » Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Florence Rice, Marjorie Rambeau. Chas. Bickford. From the story by Borden Chase and Edward J. Doherty, "East River.” Direction by Raoul Walsh. Fox. Lowe and McLaglen, apostles of brawn and red corpuscles, battle in a new medium, compressed air. As leaders of a gang of “sandhogs” tunneling under East River, it is their primary urge to win the race against the bruisers from the New York side, regardless of life or limb. Danger and violence are paramount, and one climax follows another. The insidious “bends” and paralysis attack them, as well as fire sweeping through the tunnel and the mighty force of an explosion. There are in fact too many climaxes for good drama or a weak heart. The picture’s chief value lies in the mechanical facts it presents rather than for its fictional qualities; and its appeal is limited for this reason. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Of interest to older boys Too harrowing WINGS IN THE DARK » » Myrna Loy, Cary Crant, Roscoe Karns. Direction by James Flood. Paramount. The romance between a girl pilot and a blinded aviator encourages the man to perfect an aeronautical device that would make it possible for even a blind man to fly. Although apparently fantastic in conception it is possible to imagine that the idea may not be an improbable development of the future and it is logically developed in the story, making for dramatic thrills. It is an entertaining picture, well cast and directed, with definite appeal for family audiences. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Good Good over 1 0 •w THE WINNING TICKET » » Leo Carrillo, Louise Fazenda, Ted Healy, Irene Hervey. From an original story by Robert Pirosh and Ceorge Seaton. Direction by Charles F. Riesner. M-G-M. A light slapstick comedy concerning an artless, good natured Italian barber, married to a rollicking Irish woman. He surreptitiously buys a ticket on the Irish sweepstakes and luck favors him only to find the ticket misplaced. The noisy, argumentative family life becomes tiresome but on the whole it is a naive comedy, chief criticism of which is its length. Adolescents, 12 to 16 Children, 8 to 12 Probably amusing No value